{"id":2866,"date":"2026-06-19T10:55:00","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/voters-prefer-pro-lgbtq-candidates-and-policies-aimed-at-supporting-youth\/"},"modified":"2026-06-19T10:55:00","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T10:55:00","slug":"voters-prefer-pro-lgbtq-candidates-and-policies-aimed-at-supporting-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wokeantifa.org\/topics\/voters-prefer-pro-lgbtq-candidates-and-policies-aimed-at-supporting-youth\/","title":{"rendered":"Voters Prefer Pro-LGBTQ+ Candidates and Policies Aimed at Supporting Youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

June is LGBTQ+ Pride Month, a celebration of the LGBTQ+ community\u2019s history, culture, and contributions. And yet, President Donald Trump has not formally recognized the occasion as he did in his first term<\/span><\/a>. In fact, several Republican-led states have designated June \u201cNuclear Family Month.\u201d Public opinion has shifted right<\/span><\/a> on LGBTQ+ issues over the last several years, largely concentrated among self-identified Republicans. In the 2024 election cycle, Trump and Republican candidates spent at least $215 million<\/span><\/a> on television ads attacking Democrats on transgender issues.<\/p>

Despite this cultural shift, new polling<\/span><\/a> from Data for Progress finds that likely voters prefer candidates who are vocally supportive of LGBTQ+ rights and show strong support for several pro-LGBTQ+ policies. <\/p>

While voters continue to rank LGBTQ+ issues low in terms of which issue they consider most when deciding which candidate to vote for, that doesn\u2019t mean most voters don\u2019t care about LGBTQ+ issues. By a +19-point margin, voters say they would prefer a candidate who vocally supports LGBTQ+ rights (51%) over a candidate who vocally opposes LGBTQ+ rights (32%). This includes majorities of Democrats (76%) and Independents (54%), as well as 1 in 4 Republicans (25%). <\/p>

Voters who are women or under 45 report higher support for a candidate who vocally supports LGBTQ+ rights than their counterparts who are male or 45 and older, though pluralities in those subgroups also say they would prefer the pro-LGBTQ+ candidate. Consistent with Data for Progress\u2019 previous polling<\/span><\/a>, there is a clear disparity between people who personally know a transgender person and those who do not. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n\n \n

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In recent years, two issues related to transgender youth have dominated anti-LGBTQ+ legislative action: bans on sports participation<\/span><\/a> and medical care<\/span><\/a>. While polls from Pew Research Center<\/span><\/a>, Gallup<\/span><\/a>, and The New York Times<\/em>\/Ipsos<\/span><\/a> have shown high levels of support for these bans among U.S. adults, Data for Progress\u2019 surveys have demonstrated that Americans are more closely divided<\/span><\/a> when specifically asked to choose who should have jurisdiction over these decisions.<\/p>

While sports participation and youth medical care remain divisive issues, there are many other issues related to the LGBTQ+ community that command majority support \u2014 and plurality support among Republicans \u2014 even if they receive less attention.<\/p>

Policies aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ youth from bullying and supporting their mental health are particularly popular. More than 60% of voters, including majorities of Independents and pluralities of Republicans, support \u201cencouraging school districts to implement anti-bullying and harassment policies that protect LGBTQ+ students\u201d (63%), \u201cinvesting in mental health services for LGBTQ+ students\u201d (62%), and \u201crestoring federal funding for the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline’s specialized crisis services for LGBTQ+ youth\u201d (61%).<\/p>

A majority of voters also support \u201cgranting Veterans Affairs benefits to former members of the U.S. military who were discharged for being LGBTQ+\u201d (58%) and \u201cprohibiting discrimination against prospective LGBTQ+ parents in adoption and foster care\u201d (57%). Independents support both of these measures by more than +30-point margins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n\n \n \n \n\n \n\n \n

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These findings reveal that voters largely prefer candidates who are vocally supportive of LGBTQ+ rights over those who are vocally opposed, and strongly support policies aimed at protecting LGBTQ+ students and youth mental health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n

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